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The Effect of Democracy Versus Autocracy in Environmental Policy-Making Using Six African Cases

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The Effect of Democracy Versus Autocracy in Environmental Policy-Making Using Six African Cases The Effect of Democracy versus Autocracy in Environmental Policy-making using Six African Cases Peace and Development Studies Bachelor Thesis 2FU33E Tutor: Lennart Wohlgemuth Cajsa Andersson [email protected] Växjö 2018-05-23 Peace and Development Studies Cajsa Andersson 2FU33E Abstract As climate change continues to permeate the current political discourse and its effects becomes increasingly visible, the way countries respond to the situation is crucial for determining the extent of future environmental degradation. The Paris Agreement is an attempt to mitigate and adapt to the situation, however the western values tied to it have been criticised. The effectiveness of democracy in environmental protection has been questioned, especially its ties to capitalism and individualism. This thesis uses the theory of authoritarian environmentalism to investigate this debate and see whether the claims have any legitimacy in the context of the Paris Agreement and the promises made in relation to it. This thesis is a structured focused comparison which compares the policies and projects in three democratic and three autocratic African countries in close geographical proximity and similar environmental situations, to investigate if and in what way the type of government affects the promises made, and whether they are kept, to the Paris Agreement and its signatories. The indicators used for the thesis include policies and internationally funded projects, due to their accessibility, however it is worth noting that they only give a crude approximation of the activities and ambition in the countries, with several others having important roles. The quality of the six countries’ Intended Nationally Determined Contributions is investigated and followed up with an evaluation of some of the projects active to examine if the countries are implementing their promised efforts, already in these early, yet important, stages of the Agreement. In addition, the theory is applied to the countries’ efforts and some conclusions are reached, including the overall good quality of the countries’ environmental work and confirming that authoritarian countries can produce quality policies, while still having lacking areas, similar to their democratic counterparts, pointing to the complexity of the topic. Keywords: Authoritarian Environmentalism, the Paris Agreement, Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, Southern and Central Africa, Peace and Development Studies Cajsa Andersson 2FU33E Table of Content List of abbreviations ................................................................................................................................ 4 List of tables ............................................................................................................................................ 5 List of Appendices ................................................................................................................................... 5 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 6 1.2 Objective and Research Questions ................................................................................................ 8 1.3 Structure of the thesis ................................................................................................................... 8 2. Framework considerations .................................................................................................................. 9 2.1 Theoretical framework .................................................................................................................. 9 2.2 Analytical Framework .................................................................................................................. 11 2.3 Conceptual framework ................................................................................................................ 14 3. Methodological framework ............................................................................................................... 15 3.1 Ethical Considerations ................................................................................................................. 18 3.2 Limitations and Delimitations ..................................................................................................... 18 4. Background ........................................................................................................................................ 19 5. Findings .............................................................................................................................................. 20 5.1 Intended Nationally Determined Contributions ......................................................................... 21 5.1.1. The Republic of Angola ............................................................................................................ 21 5.1.2 The Republic of Botswana ........................................................................................................ 23 5.1.3 The Democratic Republic of Congo .......................................................................................... 24 5.1.4 The Republic of Namibia .......................................................................................................... 26 5.1.5 The Republic of South Africa .................................................................................................... 28 5.1.6 The Republic of Zimbabwe ....................................................................................................... 30 5.1.7. Summary of INDCs ................................................................................................................... 32 5.2 Projects and policies .................................................................................................................... 33 6. Analysis .............................................................................................................................................. 36 6.1 Quality of the INDCs .................................................................................................................... 36 6.2 Public Awareness and Private Sector Involvement ..................................................................... 39 6.3 Responsiveness to Environmental Issues .................................................................................... 40 6.4 International Influence ................................................................................................................ 41 7. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 43 7.1 Future research ........................................................................................................................... 44 8. Bibliography ....................................................................................................................................... 45 List of abbreviations AFDB – African Development Bank AFOLU – Agriculture, Forestry and Land-use BAU – Business as Usual CAFI – Central African Forest Initiative CAT – Climate Action Tracker CTCN – Climate Technology Centre and Network DRC – Democratic Republic of Congo DRR – Disaster Risk Reduction FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations GCF – Green Climate Fund GEF – Global Environment Facility HDI – Human Development Index IPPU – Industrial Processes and Product Use (I)NDC – (Intended) Nationally Determined Contribution MDG – Millennium Development Goals NAP – National Adaptation Plan NAPA – National Adaptation Programmes of Action NAMAs – Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions NDP – National Development Plan NGO – Non-Governmental Organization NWP – Nairobi Work Programme POP – Persistent Organic Pollutants REDD+ – Reduction Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation SDG – Sustainable Development Goals TCP – Technical Cooperation Programme TEP – Technical Examination Process UNFCCC – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNDP – United Nations Development Programme ZUNDAF - Zimbabwe United Nations Development Assistance Framework 4 Peace and Development Studies Cajsa Andersson 2FU33E List of tables Table 1 ...................................................................................................................................... 11 Table 2 ...................................................................................................................................... 33 Table 3 ...................................................................................................................................... 34 List of Appendices Appendix A – Background Appendix B – Projects and Policies 5 Peace and Development Studies Cajsa Andersson 2FU33E 1. Introduction Mainstream political discourse has increasingly become saturated with discussions of climate change over the last decade. The evidence of anthropogenic global warming is unambiguous as the ever-growing process of modernisation continues and places increasing stress on the global environment. Economic growth has thus far been one of the biggest reasons for environmental degradation, despite its positive societal effects, and it will be impossible to sustain a western lifestyle for everyone currently inhabiting the earth, ultimately leading one to question those western values (Beeson, 2010, p. 278
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